Read Online Scotch Mist by Elizabeth Darrell - Free Book Online

establishment and the military know a bloody sight more about exploding devices than the Internet.’

FOUR
    â€˜ N o, no and bloody no !’ raged Captain Knott leaping to his feet and glaring at Max. ‘I’ve known these men for six years, in good times and bad, and not one of them would use his expertise to kill and maim . For six months at a time they risk their own lives to save others by de-activating explosive devices. That’s what they do. Day after day . They know there’s a chance of being blown to bits, but they’re dedicated guys with immense courage.’
    His reaction was almost explosive in its heat, but his blue eyes were icy cold. ‘I deeply resent your attitude, which springs from ignorance like everyone else who’s never in the front line. Do you know how many times my squad has been in Iraq or Afghanistan during the time I’ve been their commander? Do you?’ he repeated aggressively.
    â€˜Yes. I checked the records before I came here. With demanding frequency, because what you do is very specialized,’ said Max quietly. ‘I also know you’ve lost two men, and three have had limbs blown off.’
    â€˜Yes, and young Barry Tyler is still on life-support from our last deployment. Consider that , Captain Rydal.’
    Max had also learned that Jeremy Knott had been recommended for an award for risking his life to rescue two of his injured men under fire a month before their return to base at the start of October. Ignoring the man’s belligerent stance, he sat and took his time in responding to Knott’s hostility with some plain speaking of his own.
    â€˜We in SIB are often accused of having no understanding of fighting men, because we’re simply plods with unpleasant natures. No, we don’t normally go into battle shoulder to shoulder with them; our work begins when they crack under the strain and act totally out of character. For instance: He’s just back from a war zone where he’s been pushed to the limit, seen his mates killed or maimed, and he discovers his wife has been sleeping around, or the bank has foreclosed on their loan and repossessed the classic car he’s been lovingly restoring for the past two years. Or he’s told his thirteen-year-old daughter is pregnant. Or he learns his son was set upon and kicked half to death by a gang of local yobbos.’
    Knott had sobered considerably during this calm speech, and stayed silent while Max continued.
    â€˜The man we meet isn’t the one you know. He has assaulted, maybe even killed the wife who betrayed him while he was having a tough time. He has run amok in the bank and been arrested for ABH and criminal damage. He has stripped his promiscuous daughter’s room of her clothes and prized possessions and burned them in the garden as punishment, or he goes on the rampage in town attacking any group of rowdy youths to avenge what was done to his son.’
    Seeing Knott about to speak, Max forestalled him. ‘Yes, the majority of soldiers returning from active service who might face such problems cope reasonably well, but every so often one finds he can’t cope. That’s when we meet him.’
    â€˜Yes, of course, I appreciate what you’re saying, but . . .’
    â€˜We had to ask your permission to borrow your men for a search of the stadium because that was an official request to take them away from their normal duty to perform one for us.’ Max stood. ‘However, when it’s a question of interviewing them in connection with an incident which killed a woman and injured a large number of people, our demands override others. I could have called any of your personnel to our headquarters for interrogation. I’m here merely as a courtesy.’ Knott just glared as Max handed him a written list. ‘Please arrange for these men to report to us before twenty hundred hours. I’ll hold you responsible for any who fail to